Around the country, ICE is arresting immigrants when they show up to court

Monday, 07 August 2017 15:44

The courthouse is supposed to be a place where justice is not only meted out to the perpetrators of crimes but offered as protection to its victims.

But around the country, immigrants showing up for their day in court — as defendants, witnesses, or victims seeking redress — are encountering a different face of the law instead: They’re being arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers seeking to deport them after they leave the courthouse, or even when they’re still within its walls.

In New York City, judges and public defenders have resorted to looking out for people who could be ICE agents — and hastily sending out email alerts to bring immigrants in through another door if they see one. In El Paso, ICE arrested a transgender woman named Irvin Gonzalez as she filed a restraining order against an abusive partner. In California, the state Supreme Court and prosecutors tried to appeal to the Trump administration to stop the arrests — to no avail.